Well California is still being lashed by a new storm about every three to four days. We get a couple nice days then wham! Today was the day. We decided to make this a travel day and drove the fifty miles over to Monterey California. The rains caught up with us about the time we hit highway one. We rolled into the Elks parking lot campground just before noon and by the time we had paid our fees it was pouring.

Now remember that we are retired, and there is no reason to rush this project. We needed to unhook from the trailer, so we carefully worked it into a convenient stall in the corner and had lunch. By and by there was a lull, and I slipped out and blocked and unhooked from the trailer. We managed to get camp set up just as the next squall chased us back inside.

About two in the afternoon a nice blue sky filled in. By then I had a detailed street map printed up and we grabbed our coats and walked about two miles down to the Fisherman’s Warf on Monterey Bay. We looked over the marina and saw many luxurious yachts. We dropped in on the tourist shops and sniffed at the restaurants but mostly kept our money in our pockets. By four we were ready to hike back to the Elks. We explored a different route back up the hill and just as we walked into the parking lot a new series of clouds started dropping hail on us. We rushed across the lot and ducked into the coach. Within a few minutes the sky was dark black again and the rains started pouring.

Now perhaps we were just lucky, but it is nice that we didn’t let the rains keep us locked inside. It is also helpful to be able to call up the weather report and look at the Doppler radar. That is still showing cells of very active weather coming ashore this evening. But the forecast is for two days of nice weather and with that we should be able to explore Monterey thoroughly. The area appears to be packed with art galleries and museums. We have also found a twenty nine mile bicycle trail that just begs to be explored.

We send our love to all from occasionally sunny Monterey California.

Gary and Judy